Of hardware and inside jokes

“Breaking Bad,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” won big in the TV categories at this year’s Golden Globes.

Bryan Cranston poses in the press room with the award for Best TV series — drama for “Breaking Bad” and best actor in a TV series — drama for “Breaking Bad” at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, in Beverly Hills, Calif. — Photo by The Associated Press

I’ve never been a fan of award shows, but every few years I watch The Golden Globes — or a part of it — to see if there are TV shows or movies that seem interesting or worthwhile that I’ve yet to see, or in some cases haven’t yet heard about.

The main reasons I avoid these shows are the longwinded thank you speeches, the endless inside jokes about the personal lives of fellow celebrities and the often obvious winners.

Luckily, there seemed to be a lot of surprises in the various winner circles on Sunday evening — especially if half of those who picked up hardware were nearly as surprised as they claimed. Even veteran winners like Jon Voight (Best Supporting Actor/TV for “Ray Donovan) and Robin Wright (Best Actress/TV Drama for “House of Cards”) seemed shaken.

Wright’s award was the first for original content produced by online provider Netflix, though it garnered three nominations for “House of Cards,” as well as nods for actor Jason Bateman for the return of “Arrested Development,” and to actress Taylor Schilling for the excellent “Orange is the New Black.” Not bad for it’s first year against the networks and cable channels.

While Wright deserved the award, I’m not sure how the Hollywood Foreign Press could pick her over Tatiana Maslany considering the number of diverse characters she handles with aplomb in the outstanding series “Orphan Black,” but I don’t get a vote.

I was not surprised that after four consecutive nominations for Best TV Drama and Best Actor in a TV Drama, “Breaking Bad” and leading man Bryan Cranston finally won — Cranston for his portrayal of high school teacher with terminal cancer turned drug lord Walter White. Co-star Aaron Paul lost best supporting actor to Voight.

The show ended its five-season run to much hoopla this past year and is one of three shows I’ve promised myself to finish or catch up on during this calendar year for pure enjoyment. I’ve only finished the first season of “Breaking Bad,” which was tremendous, but have had far too much new stuff to watch.

The only show before it on my watch ASAP list is “Friday Night Lights,” and because I’m writing about the Golden Globes this week, I’ve devoted much of my recent watching quota to it.

The third show on that list was the subject of last week’s column “The Good Wife,” which failed to win anything Sunday, but was nominated for Best Drama/TV, Best Actress/TV Drama (Julianna Margulies) and best supporting Actor/TV (Josh Charles).

The biggest surprise of the night was how well newcomer “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” did, winning best TV Comedy as well as Best Actor/TV Comedy (Andy Samberg). As good as Samberg is, it’s the entire cast — especially Andre Braugher — that make this show as funny as it is. I was delighted to see it get the accolades beating out such standards as “The Big Bang Theory,” “Modern Family” and “Parks and Recreation.”

Cohost Amy Poehler did win Best Actress/TV Comedy for “Parks and Recreation,” — another great cast-driven sitcom — and did a great job with Tina Fey roasting the rest of their peers.

Poehler well deserves the nod for a show that seems to be winding down its narrative this season while still at its peak.

While this column is dedicated to TV, I do want to mention how — for the first time in years — I have a list of recent movies (many of which are still in the theatre) that I’m excited to see.

I’m already planning a return trip for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” which wasn’t nominated for a Golden Globe and I can’t wait to see “American Hustle,” which won three of the seven awards it was up for Sunday including Best Picture/Comedy.

“12 Years a Slave,” which won Best Picture/Drama and “The Wolf of Wall Street” which garnered Leonardo DiCaprio the top dramatic actor award are also already on my list.

But after Sunday I added “Nebraska” which was shut out, but nominated for five awards, “Inside Llewyn Davis” (three nominations) and “Dallas Buyers Club” (wins for both nominees Matthew McConauhey and Jared Leto) to that list — three films I had yet to hear about.

A final thought on the TV side of things: is it me, or am I the only one who has never heard of most of the mini-series and made-for-TV movies that get nominated at the Globes year after year? And where do you find these shows once they’ve aired?

A biopic about record producer “Phil Spector” staring Al Pacino, Helen Mirren and Jeffry Tambor tops my list of this year’s nominees in that category, which also include award winners “Top of the Lake” (Elizabeth Moss, best Actress), “Dancing on the Edge” (Jacqueline Bisset, best supporting actress) and “Behind the Candelabra” (Michael Douglas, Best Actor/Mini-Series and for Best Mini-Series/TV Movie) about Liberace.

Bryan Cranston poses in the press room with the award for Best TV series — drama for “Breaking Bad” and best actor in a TV series — drama for “Breaking Bad” at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, in Beverly Hills, Calif. — Photo by The Associated Press

HBG

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Quick question - 03/31/2015

A Corner Brook woman was upset recently when she had her seal skin purse confiscated by customs officials when entering the United States — she was unaware of a U.S. ban on seal product entering that country. Are you aware of the ban?